The Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) was founded in 1971 by a group of Dominican university professors and has since then distinguished itself as an institution with a vocation for quality. INTEC’s mission is to train professionals to be internationally competitive, critical, and creative, with social responsibility and with the ability to contribute to the necessary transformations of Dominican society in the face of global challenges. Its international clinical electives are designed to teach students about the delivery of health care in an international setting and the impact of social determinants of health in the Caribbean. Emphasis is given to the challenges and opportunities for providing care in a resource limited country and the major communicable and non-communicable diseases in the Dominican Republic.
Past Participants
Autumn Beavers – Class of 2022
“I realized the importance of finding common ground so that you can build rapport and trust with a patient. It also reminded me that patients do not always need us to be their healthcare professional. Sometimes they just need us to be a person, an ear in the room willing to listen.”
Paul Chisolm – Class of 2022
“My experience in the Dominican Republic will be one I hope to reflect on often. I met some quality Dominican medical students, saw how medicine was conducted in another country and honed my Spanish speaking skills. But, additionally, I learned a valuable lesson about caring for patients: limited resources should never prevent you from giving the patient in front of you your best effort."
Cameron Lee – Class of 2022
“Ultimately, this international experience has strengthened my resolve not only to improve upon the Spanish skills I gained in the Caribbean, but also to utilize these skills to serve similarly disadvantaged groups as a future clinician.”
Marshall Lewis – Class of 2022
“Working in the Dominican Republic this summer not only helped me develop medical and linguistic tools that I will use in future practice, but strengthened my commitment to engaging in international experiences in pursuit of my goal of becoming a culturally competent physician.”
Rebecca Massey – Class of 2022
“This clinical rotation made me more passionate about global medicine, but it also made me more passionate about being a physician in my home state of Alabama. Seeing the same issues patients face in our community through a new lens in the Dominican Republic allowed me to understand just how much opportunity there is to make change here at home.”
Kalah Ozimba – Class of 2022
“Overall, the most important lesson I will take away from this experience is that rural issues in rural D.R. are not unique to the country, but are very similar to the issues that exist in rural areas around the world.”